A couple from Florida recently filed a defective hernia mesh lawsuit against Ethicon Inc. and parent company Johnson & Johnson alleging the Proceed Ventral Hernia Patch caused serious and permanent injuries.

The claim contends the product was defective in nature and unreasonably dangerous for consumer use and has impacted the couple’s marriage and quality of life.

According to the defective hernia mesh lawsuit, plaintiff couple Michael D. and Joan D. and their doctors had relied on the marketing materials presented by Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson, which allegedly failed to mention potentially serious device complications.

With this in mind, the lawsuit states Michael underwent surgery to have an umbilical hernia repaired on Nov. 9, 2012 and the Ventral Hernia Mesh was implanted.

Several years later, the lawsuit states Michael underwent partial removal of the Proceed Ventral Patch on April 30, 2015, with the surgeon reportedly discovering the bowel had been severely damaged by the mesh. The damage was reportedly so bad that the surgeon found it impossible to separate the bowel from the mesh and had to perform a bowel resection.

Michael reportedly underwent surgery again on Sept. 15, 2015 to have the Proceed Ventral Patch removed, with surgeons noting dense adhesions had developed and the mesh was once again impeding on the bowel. The surgeon reportedly had to perform a small bowel resection and had it repaired with the Phasix Mesh.

According to the lawsuit, Michael continues to experience severe pain, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, inflammation, and loss of appetite allegedly from these long term hernia mesh injuries.

The lawsuit alleges that Michael’s daily life has been severely impacted, and the complications may have made it impossible for him to undergo future abdominal surgeries.

Overview of Hernia Mesh Complications

Surgical mesh has been used for hernia repair for years, used to strength tissue repair and minimize the risk of recurrence.

Hernias occur when organs or fatty tissue seep through organs from openings or weakened areas of muscle, which typically occur in the abdominal wall. According to Wikipedia, hernia mesh products have been used to help numerous patients, but have also been linked to many serious device complications.

The Ethicon Proceed Ventral Patch is one of these hernia mesh devices, which consists of several layers including a polypropylene layer that is meant to spur swelling and inflammation around the hernia.

This is supposed to encourage healing around the hernia, with the mesh providing extra support for the muscle to grow and heal around. However, this inflammation can potentially turn into infection and increase the chances of adhesion development.

The lawsuit points out that the multiple layers of the Ventral Patch increases the duration of the inflammation, which can cause dense adhesion formation from underlying organs, which causes different complications like bowel injuries, hernia recurrence, foreign body reaction, and severe chronic pain.

Side effects of hernia mesh can include erosion and migration, in which the product severely damages internal organs and migrates away from its implant spot, respectively. Most hernia mesh complications require some form of revision surgery, which is considered riskier than the inertial procedure.

At all times relevant, Michael and Joan say they were reportedly unaware of this information, stating they could not have known until after his revision surgeries. The defective hernia mesh lawsuit is reportedly seeking a multitude of damages, including counts of negligence and failure to warn.

The Defective Hernia Mesh Lawsuit is Case No. 6:19-cv-00811-GAP-LRH, in the U.S. District Court of Middle Florida, Orlando Division.